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(9/11)
Name the
English-speaking countries. Speak about your associations with
one of the countries and its people.
English is the
third most spoken native language worldwide, after Chinese and
Hindi, with some 380 million speakers. It is the official
language in 71 sovereign states and territories with the total
population of 2,135 million people. Among them are the UK, the
USA, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, India, Pakistan,
the Philippines, South Africa and many others. In the UK and the
USA there is no law about the official language, and English is
the official language there de facto. There are some countries,
too, where English is the major language, that is, it is the
native language of the overwhelming majority of the population;
these countries include the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand
and some others. The two most important English-speaking
countries are, of course, the UK and the USA.
(a)The United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the
British Isles, off the northern coast of Europe. The British
Isles consist of two large islands: Great Britain and Ireland,
and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is about
244,000 square kilometers.
The British Isles
are separated from the Continent by the North Sea, the English
Channel and the Strait of Dover. The western coast of the
country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea; the
eastern coast is washed by the North Sea.
The population of the country is over 57 million people. The
United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London,
Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast respectively. In everyday speech
'Great Britain' is used in the meaning of 'the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. The country is also
referred to as Britain, England or the UK. The capital of the UK
is London, with the population of about 7.5 million people
(about 13 million people in Greater London, that is London with
the suburbs).
The surface of
the country varies very much. The north of Scotland is
mountainous and is called Highlands. The south, which abounds in
beautiful valleys and plains, is called Lowlands. The north of
England is mountainous, while the eastern, central and
south-eastern parts of England are a vast plain. Mountains are
not very high, with Ben Nevis in Scotland as the highest
mountain (1,343 m). There are a lot of rivers in the UK, but
they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while
the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The
mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf
Stream influence the climate of the British Isles which is mild
the whole year round.
The UK is a
constitutional monarchy. This means that the country is governed
by the Parliament and the Queen is Head of State. The
legislative power in the country is exercised by the Houses of
Parliament which consist of two chambers: the House of Lords and
the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed of
hereditary peers and peeresses. The members of the House of
Commons are elected by people from the constituencies in the
four parts of the country. The House of Commons is the real
governing body of the country. The executive power is exercised
by Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The government is usually
formed by the political party which has the majority in the
House of Commons. Prime Minister is the majority party leader
appointed by the Queen. Prime Minister chooses a team of
ministers; 20 of them form the Cabinet. The most important
parties in the UK are the Conservative and the Labour Party.
The judicial
branch of the government is represented by the system of courts.
There is no written Constitution in Great Britain, only
precedents and traditions. The national flag of the country is
Union Jack.
The UK is a
highly developed industrial and agrarian country. It produces
and exports machinery, electronics, railroad equipment,
aircraft, textile. One of the chief industries is shipbuilding.
Though the country is not rich in mineral resources, it is one
of the world's leading economies. The country also must import
about 40 % of its food supplies. Financial sector is the most
important one in the economy of the country, 70 % of the
country's population work there. Britain's most important
agricultural products include wool and dairy products. The main
industrial and commercial areas are cities.
When I think
about British people, I normally recollect two things: British
national character and British holidays and traditions.
The British are
famous for being conservative, reserved, punctual, friendly to
strangers and polite. They are famous for their love to
compromise, too. I think some of these traits may be explained
by the island location — for example, their conservatism,
friendliness to strangers and politeness. Partially due to this
location, the British Isles have not been invaded since the
Norman Conquest in the 11th century, and the British people were
not afraid of strangers. The influence of foreign lifestyles was
very small, too, that is probably why they are conservative.
The British have
a lot of holidays and celebrations. Many of them are celebrated
throughout the world because of their Christian origin.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day), Good
Friday and Easter are all Christian holidays, or are based on a
combination of pagan and Christian traditions. Another group of
British holidays include holidays celebrated in English-speaking
countries — Mothering Sunday, April Fool's Day, May Day,
Hallowe'en, the New Year.
British people
are known to keep up a lot of traditions in their daily
routines. For example, they prefer living in their own houses,
they are fond of gardening, keeping pet animals, spending
holidays on the seaside and playing cricket, darts and golf.
They like going to pubs, being members of all sorts of clubs and
having five o'clock tea. I believe the pub is the most
peculiarly British tradition, as the pub is still the centre of
social life in towns and city suburbs. Though television at home
is a strong competitor in spending leisure time, many people
still go to pubs to communicate with their neighbours and
friends. Nevertheless, the importance of the pub as the centre
of social life in a locality is decreasing.
Translate the
following sentences into English.
1. Английский — официальный язык 71 суверенного
государства и территории; это основной язык в некоторых странах,
то есть язык подавляющего большинства населения.
2. Великобритания расположена на Британских островах рядом с
северным побережьем Европы, отделена от континента Северным
морем, проливом Ла-Манш и проливом Па-де-Кале и омывается
Атлантическим океаном, Ирландским морем и Северным морем.
3. Рельеф (поверхность) страны очень разнообразен — гористый на
севере и с многочисленными долинами и обширными равнинами на
юге.
4. Гольфстрим влияет на климат страны, умеренный круглый год.
5. Великобритания — конституционная монархия, то есть она
управляется парламентом, состоящим из двух палат, а королева
является главой государства.
6. Палата лордов состоит из наследственных пэров и пэресс; члены
палаты общин, которая является реальным правящим органом,
избираются от избирательных округов.
7. Исполнительная власть осуществляется премьер-министром,
являющимся лидером партии большинства и назначаемым королевой, и
кабинетом министров.
8. Судебная власть представлена системой судов; письменной
конституции не существует, только прецеденты и традиции.
9. Великобритания — это высокоразвитая промышленная и аграрная
страна, производящая станки, электронику, железнодорожное
оборудование, самолеты, текстиль, суда.
10. Страна не богата полезными ископаемыми, но является одной из
ведущих в экономическом отношении стран мира, причем финансовый
сектор является одним из самых важных секторов ее экономики.
11. Британцы сдержаны, пунктуальны, консервативны и известны
своей любовью к компромиссам, что, вероятно, можно объяснить тем
фактом, что Великобритания не завоевывалась со времен
Нормандского завоевания.
12. У британцев много праздников и празднований, в том числе
многочисленные праздники, имеющие христианское происхождение,
такие как Рождество, День подарков, Масленый вторник, Страстная
пятница и Пасха, другие праздники, которые справляются во всех
англоговорящих странах.
13. Британцы соблюдают массу традиций в повседневной жизни,
таких как игра в крикет, дротики (дартс) и гольф или посещение
пабов.
1. English is the
official language in 71 sovereign states and territories, it is
the major language in some countries, that is, the language of
the overwhelming majority of the population.
2. Great Britain is situated on the British Isles, off the
northern coast of Europe; it is separated from the Continent by
the North Sea, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover and
is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea, and the North
Sea.
3. The surface of the country varies very much, it is
mountainous in the north and abounds in valleys and vast plains
in the south.
4. The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the country, which
is mild the whole year round.
5. The UK is a constitutional monarchy, that is, it is governed
by the Parliament consisting of two chambers and the Queen is
Head of State.
6. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary peers and
peeresses, the members of the House of Commons which is the real
governing body are elected from the constituencies.
7. The executive power is exercised by Prime Minister, who is
the majority party leader appointed by the Queen, and his
Cabinet.
8. The judiciary branch of the government is represented by the
system of courts, there is no written constitution, only
precedents and traditions.
9. The UK is a highly developed industrialized and agrarian
country producing machinery, electronics, railroad equipment,
aircraft, textile, ships.
10. The country is not rich in mineral resources, but it is one
of the world's leading economies with financial sector as one of
the most important sectors of the economy.
11. The British are reserved, punctual, conservative and famous
for their love to compromise, which can probably be explained by
the fact that the British Isles have not been invaded since the
Norman Conquest.
12. The British have a lot of holidays and celebrations which
include many holidays of Christian origin, such as Christmas,
Boxing Day, Shrove Tuesday, Good Friday and Easter, other
holidays are celebrated in all English-speaking countries.
13. The British keep up a lot of traditions in their daily
routines like playing cricket, darts and golf and going to pubs.
Из пособия "ЕГЭ. Английский язык.
Устные темы" Занина Е.Л. (2010, 272с.) - Part
one. English examination topics. Forms 9/11.
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